Holiday Cat-Proofing for the Home!

As much as we love our feline friends, we occasionally have to do a little work around the home to ensure that they (as well as our stuff) remain safe. The holidays present a whole new set of possible cat plus stuff encounters.

We've shown you ideas on how to keep cats off the computer, how to protect upholstery from cats and more, but what about all the new objects that come into a home for the holidays? Last year we featured a great post on how to cat-proof a Christmas tree, and seeing as how many photographs pop up in a search for "cats in a Christmas tree" we can only imagine this is an annual headache for many cat owners. Among our favorite suggestions from the post:

Use a piece of high test fishing line to connect the top of the tree to the ceiling. This will prevent the tree from tipping.

Cats naturally hate the scent of oranges, so keep orange peels under the tree to repel your cat.

If it's a plastic tree, a small amount of Citronella oil shaken into a bottle of water and misted on to the tree makes it smell unpleasant to the cat but fresh and citrus-like to you.

For small kittens wrap tinfoil around the trunk. They don't like putting their nails into it and it will keep them from climbing the tree.

Of course, the Christmas tree is only one of many things to keep cats from—garland, lights, tinsel and nativity scenes are all prey for curious cats. What are your most memorable cats-in-the-Christmas-decorations stories from your own home? Share any successful holiday cat-proofing tips you may have!